1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to techniques for provisioning computer systems and, more particularly, a method and apparatus for tagging provisioned computer systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
To quickly add or replace computer systems within a computer network, a provisioning server may be used to install an image file of a reference computer onto new or replaced computer systems. The image file generally contains all of the software, data and operating systems of the reference computer. In essence, the image file is a “snapshot” of the reference computer system. The provisioned computer operates in exactly the same manner as the reference computer, i.e., the provisioned computer is a clone of the reference computer. Such provisioning is common in large enterprise systems, where many computer systems are added or replaced on a regular basis. One example of a provisioning server is a server utilizing the OPFORCE™ software manufactured by Veritas Corporation of Mountain View, Calif. This software captures an image of a reference computer and replicates that image onto a new or replacement computer system. In backup systems, image files (snapshots) of computer systems are stored and then used to provision replacement computers. One such backup system is NETBACKUP® also manufactured by Veritas Corporation.
Generally, the license fee for the provisioning software may be computed based upon the number of computers that are provisioned by the software. Since each and every one of the provisioned computer systems are identical, it is very difficult to monitor the number of new computer systems that have been provisioned by the provisioning server. Generally each use of the provisioning server is “counted” as a use and results in a royalty payment. However, the provisioning server may be used to “reprovision” a computer system that has failed. Such a reprovisioning should not be counted as an additional provisioned computer system for licensing royalty purposes, but it may be incorrectly counted.
In addition, there is no mechanism for identifying which version of the provisioning server or which type of provisioning server was used to provision a computer by examining the provisioned computer. If a newly provisioned computer was not operating correctly, such information about the provisioning server would be useful in troubleshooting the provisioned computer.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for tagging the computer systems that are provisioned by a provisioning server.